Dear brother,

My name is zafar ali and I live in the North of England. Firstly I am very pleased to note that you have proved to be a fantastic organisation in dealing with the troubled times that our community has gone through in recent times including both the riots and New York. However, I have a request of you and that is as you will have noted that in the city of Kunduz in Northern Afghanistan 10,000 taliban of mixed races are fighting. They are trapped from all sides and unless some control is soon exercised these people could be massacred, this will be the biggest massacre in this whole war. I know you have limited leverage in this situation but you certainly have the credibility to pressure the government into influencing the northern alliance so that such an atrocity cannot take place. I thank you in advance.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmat Allah.

Please be assured that there are many Muslim converts such as myself, who wholeheartedly support your efforts to bridge the gap between those who, since September 11th, for whatever reason, feel they cannot see a place in Britain for Muslims, and those who, for many reasons, cannot see being a Muslim as being compatible with being British. I have looked through the many messages posted here on the September 11th tragedy, and I am left with mixed feelings about the comments I have read there. I am saddened at the racist and obscene bigotry that some have chosen to use, and puzzled too by the response of a few of my Muslim brothers and sisters who seem not to see that the loss of life both in New York and Washington, as well as in Afghanistan is equally horrific, and is equally a crime against the humanity of us all. As a Muslim, I must accept that the heart of this whole, terrible chapter in the recent history of the people of this world rests in the hand of God. I may not understand why, or how this is happening, (here I am speaking of the causes beyond the politicking and foreign and domestic policies of all countries, Western and Islamic alike), but I must trust in God, whom I yet believe is still the all-forgiving and the all-merciful One. In all of what has happened, I still proclaim my faith that human history remains subject to that mercy and forgiveness. At this time of Ramadan, I pray for peace, but I pray also for us all, myself included, that we may have a still greater faith in the loving God who, despite all our evil acts and failings is there for us, calling us all to return to Him. Wassalam.

Dear MCB,

I would like to extend my gratitude to those who organised the event held at the Centre in Regent's Park on November 10th. I am sorry to say that I do not know the names of those who led the discussion and cooked the fabulous meal (my one regret is that there was no printed programme to help me to hold on to the names of those I met). I was deeply moved by the slide presentation on Muslim life around the world. I found the group discussion afterwards to be tremendously thought-provoking. And the food was simply marvellous. As a regular parishioner at Southwark Cathedral, and an American deeply disturbed by recents event both in New York and in Afghanistan, I have been doing my best to learn more about Islam. The evening that I spent at the Centre was more helpful to this endeavor than any amount of solitary reading or thinking. With your help, a sizeable portion of my ignorance has been replaced with warm admiration.

Dear MCB,

If you really want to help transform the state of Muslims in Britain, I feel that you should embark upon a serious campaign of transforming the structure of Mosques within Britain. At present Muslims just go to Mosque and only learn to recite the Quran and as a result grow up having very little knowledge about Islam and our rich tradition. The MCB should develop a standardised syllabus in consultation with leading Islamic scholars which will be taught in every Mosque. The syllabus should include the recitation of Qur'an, Islamic Sciences, Commentary of Quran, hadeeth sciences and history of Islam. Muslims in this country know nothing about Islam even though they spend many hours learning or reciting should I say the Quran in Mosques as children. This is probably the reason why so many are turning to a life of crime and drugs leading them away from Islam because they havent been provided with the intellectual foundation of their deen. Its an ambitious project and one that could greatly benefit the future generation of Muslims. Hope you'll give it careful consideration.

wasalaam

I understand you have received a great deal of hate mail since the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, so I thought it might be worthwhile and to reassure you to try to redress the balance a little. I for, for one, do NOT blame any Moslems for the atrocity and believe the attack has absolutley nothing to do with Islam whatsoever. Futhermore, I shoud like to assure you that I am not alone in my views and ask you to accept that the nasty comments you have received (which were undoubtedly sent anonymously) will be from a minority of non-Moslems. Just as we do not judge Moslems by the actions of a few nutters who just happen to be Moslem, I ask you not to judge us all by the offensiveness of a few, nominally, Christians. In fact, I find it difficult to accept that Great Britain has much of a case to call itself a 'Christian' state. I was brought up a Roman Catholic, but from what I know of Islam (having read a little) I find it a far more attractive and positive faith than Catholicism, which, for me, lays to much stress on pain, guilt and sufferer. I am particularly attracted to Islam's emphasis on charity to others. God bless you all.